Europe

Serbia
Last Reviewed: 11 December 2008

Country information

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Relations with the International Community

Following the events of October 2000, the FRY authorities made great efforts to rebuild links with the international community that were destroyed under Milosevic. In the UK, our assessment is clear: Serbia's future lies in its integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, and close relations with her neighbours and the international community in general. Soon after the removal of Milosevic, FRY rejoined the United Nations. She also joined various other international organisations, including the IMF, OSCE and the Council of Europe.

Relations with NATO

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) 'Legality of use of force' case was brought by Serbia and Montenegro against 8 NATO member states (including the UK) for their role in the 1999 Kosovo conflict. In December 2004 the ICJ judged that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case as Serbia and Montenegro was not a UN member at the time and did not have access to the Court via any other legal avenue. The case was therefore dismissed.

The UK and NATO are committed to working with Serbia on defence reform. The UK has good bilateral military co-operation with Serbia and provides training and assistance to assist defence reform. In May 2003 NATO Allies agreed a Tailored Co-operation Programme for Serbia and Montenegro, which helped to prepare Serbia for PfP membership.

Serbia and Montenegro adopted a Defence Strategy in November 2004 and a White Paper in April 2005, making progress on defence reform. Separation from Montenegro triggered urgent changes in the structure of the armed forces. To date, both countries have handled the restructuring sensitively and maturely. In 2006 the Serbian government completed a Strategic Defence Review which committed Serbia to considerable restructuring which will prepare the armed forces for involvement in multilateral defence activity.

At the NATO Riga Summit on 29 November 2006, Serbia was invited to join the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. PfP aims to promote regional stability by supporting defence reform and defence diplomacy activities between NATO Allies and PfP members. Allies decided to grant Serbia PfP to reflect the progress made on crucial defence reform issues - an area particularly relevant to NATO. We hope PfP will encourage and facilitate continued progress.

The UK remains firmly committed to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Progress on full ICTY co-operation in Serbia remains essential. The NATO Communiqué makes clear that NATO will expect Serbia to co-operate fully with the ICTY and "will closely monitor their respective efforts in this regard".

Relations with the European Union

In its Feasibility Report in April 2005, the Commission judged that Serbia and Montenegro had made sufficient progress in meeting the prerequisites and developing the capacity to negotiate a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU Improved co-operation with the ICTY also contributed to this positive decision. The Council of Ministers subsequently approved the decision on 25 April 2005 and asked the Commission to prepare a negotiating mandate.

The EU formally took the decision to open SAA negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 3 October 2005 with the ceremonial opening of negotiations following on 10 October. Official and technical rounds of negotiations followed every couple of months. The SAA creates a contractual relationship between a country of the region and the EU with clearly outlined responsibilities on both sides. As a result, the SAA negotiations remain dependent on continued co-operation with the ICTY, and the Commission has the option to disrupt SAA negotiations if cooperation with the ICTY is deemed insufficient.

On 7 June 2007 the Commission announced the resumption of SAA talks with Serbia, due to improved co-operation with the ICTY. On the 7 November the Commission initialled the SAA. The SAA was signed on 29 April 2008 at the GAERC in parallel with the Interim Agreement (IA) on trade and trade related issues. EU Member States must ratify the signature of the SAA before it comes in to effect. The ratification and the implementation of the IA will depend on Serbia’s co-operation with ICTY.

The UK remains committed to supporting Serbia's progress towards EU membership, subject to the necessary conditions being met.

The Europa website has further information on EU relations with Serbia:

EU Enlargement - Serbia

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe was set up in 1949 and works to promote democracy and human rights throughout its member states. On 3 April 2003, having satisfied the membership condition of adopting the Constitutional Charter, SaM became its 45th member. The UK welcomed the accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the Council of Europe. Following the dissolution of the State Union, Serbia retained membership, and the responsibility to satisfy post accession requirements, of all international organisations to which SaM belonged, including the Council of Europe.

On 11 May 2007, Serbia assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. Its priorities for the six months were as follows:

Promoting the core values of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
Enhancing the security of persons - especially combating terrorism, organised crime and corruption
Building a more humane Europe - towards more active participation of all citizens
Strengthening co-operation and good neighbourly relations through full respect of values and implementation of Council of Europe standards in South Eastern European countries, thus fostering the European perspective of the region.

Council of Europe

Relations with Kosovo

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. On 18 February, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK would recognise Kosovo as a sovereign, independent state. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence and is seeking an advisory opinion from the ICJ on whether the declaration of independence is in accordance with international law.

Relations with the Neighbours

Serbia’s relations with her neighbours are complicated by the legacy of the 1990s. In recent years, regional relations have continued to steadily improve. During a visit to the Bosnia and Herzegovina capital, Sarajevo, in November 2003, SaM President Svetozar Marovic publicly apologised ‘for any evil or disaster that any one from Serbia and Montenegro caused to anyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina’.

He had previously made a similar apology during his September visit to Zagreb ‘for all the evils any citizen of Serbia and Montenegro has committed against any citizen of Croatia’. On 11 July 2005, President Tadic of Serbia was one of the regional and international dignitaries who attended the emotional commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.

On 10 September 2003, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic made an historic visit to Belgrade. It was the first visit by a Croatian Head of State since the end of the wars in 1995. On 15 November 2004, the Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader made an official visit to Belgrade, followed by a reciprocal visit to Zagreb by Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in November 2005. The two men met again on 21 July 2006, when Ivo Sanader paid his second visit to Serbia. Both Prime Ministers stressed their countries’ joint future as members of the EU and looked forward to a steady improvement in bilateral ties. Some issues still remain however, including the resettlement of Serb refugees in Croatia, the rights of the Croat minority in Serbia and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.

The October 2006 election campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina saw a very public strengthening of ties between Serbia and Republika Srpska, culminating in the signing of a revised Special Parallel Relations Agreement in Banja Luka on 26 September. However, both sides were careful to stress that the agreement in no way undermined the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In September 2007, Serbia ratified the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) in Brussels. Discussions have been intense, particularly over the amount of tariff charges and excise duty Serbia would be allowed to charge on imported Croatian cigarettes. Serbia was concerned that the agreement would open its cigarette market while keeping Croatia closed to its producers. Serbia has also signed an agreement with foreign investors in the Serbian tobacco industry to protect their investments until 2009, so careful handling will be needed to resolve these issues. Once all the provisions have been enacted, CEFTA will create a free trade area between ten central and southeast European states, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo.

On 26 February 2007, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, announced its judgment on the case filed by BiH against Serbia and Montenegro in March 1993, claiming violations of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

The ICJ found that Serbia had not committed genocide through its organs or persons and had not conspired to commit genocide, nor incited the commission of genocide.

However the court ruled that Serbia did not use its influence to prevent the genocide of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in July 1995, and that Serbia’s ongoing failure to punish those who had carried out the massacre continues to represent a breach of their obligations under the Genocide Convention. The ICJ reiterated that Serbia had an international legal obligation to immediately transfer Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and to fully co-operate with the Tribunal. Members of the international community called upon both countries to respect the judgment and respond constructively

On 24 June 2007, Tadic apologised to Croatian citizens for crimes committed in the 1990s war in that country. He said, 'that actions of former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic represented one of “the darkest pages in the Serbian history.” '

Serbia's relations with the UK

UK representation in Serbia
UK Embassy in Belgrade

Since October 2000, the FCO has funded various projects to support the Serbian independent media and press, OSCE legal assistance training, human rights training for Serbian judges and prosecutors, English language training for Serbian government officials and a forum organised by the British Association for Central and Eastern Europe. Further assistance is planned for Serbia under the government's Global Conflict Prevention Fund: supporting local democracy, encouraging unbiased media coverage of political developments and promoting truth and reconciliation between ethnic communities.

The FCO has also contributed a total of £500,000 to the work of the International Commission for Missing Persons on DNA laboratory analysis and exhumations.

Consistent with their Regional Assistance Plan the purpose of the DFID programme in Serbia is to enhance the effectiveness of the overall international community engagement in promoting and supporting poverty reduction in Serbia. DFID works to achieve this in three main ways:

Trying to ensure that EU accession policies and processes recognise and support nationally owned pro-poor development strategies. This is achieved through dialogue with the European Commission, in their work with the European Agency for Reconstruction and in supporting implementation of Serbia's Poverty Reduction, Public Administration and Banking reform strategies.

Working with other donors and the government to agree and implement a common agenda for improved aid effectiveness in Serbia. DFID provides support to the Serbian government's Development and Aid Co-ordination Unit and have a policy of working directly with other donors, ideally through harmonised joint funding arrangements in all interventions.

Supporting efforts to reduce the potential for conflict. The Safety, Security and Access to Justice programme is DFID's component of the UK Governments Conflict Prevention Pool.

For further details refer to the Department for International Development website: Department for International Development (DFID)

Department for International Development (DFID)

Cultural Relations

During his visit to Belgrade in November 2002, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw signed a Cultural Agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Co-operation in the Fields of Education, Science, Culture and Sport. The purpose of the agreement is to strengthen cultural relations and promote exchanges in the fields mentioned above, through the British Council.

The British Embassy in Belgrade, together with the British Council, does much to promote the United Kingdom in Serbia - for example, the sixth 'British Days' event held in Kotor in November 2003, which coincided with a visit to the town by the British Naval Ship HMS Somerset. Similar events, which have helped establish links with local businessmen, officials and students, have also been held in Pozarevac (April 2002), Nis (June 2002), Kragujevac (February 2003), Subotica (June 2003), Kragujevac (February 2004), Kraljevo (June 2004), and Negotin and Bor (March 2005).

On 3 June 2003, Serbia and Montenegro played England in a friendly football match at the Walkers Stadium in Leicester. SaM played Wales in Belgrade and Cardiff during the qualifying stages of the Euro 2004 tournament.

Vast majority of public diplomacy activities in Belgrade is organised around important bilateral links and dates, visits of sports clubs, University, youth and scout groups, celebrations of British national days, public promotions of the FCO/Embassy funded projects across the country etc.

In 2007 the Embassy published a photo monograph to mark 170 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Serbia (Yugoslavia). More than 150 photographs from the Embassy collection, some even dating from the end of 19th and beginning of 20th century, were used to illustrate relations between the two countries. Two eminent Serbian historians, Chevening scholars, wrote the book preface.

On the same occasion the Embassy produced the documentary film “UK/Serbia: Partners Past Future”. The aim was to show different aspects of bilateral relations, i.e. co-operation in the fields of medicine, economy, culture, sports and education.

Every year, together with local authorities of several towns across Serbia (i.e. Mladenovac, Kragujevac, Vranje), the Embassy commemorates Scottish nurses who were helping Serbian soldiers and people during the World War I.

Third year in a row, EXIT music festival was the major consular challenge for the British Embassy in Belgrade, with around 10,000 British citizens making up by far the largest group of foreign guests. The Embassy established special Consular Team, in 2007 and 2008 respectively, which was on call in Novi Sad 24 hours a day. Furthermore, as part of the project, the Embassy set up the British Information Point (BIP), where distressed British citizens could seek first hand consular assistance or practical advice. As a warm-up for the festival the Embassy, together with the Youth Cultural Centre CK13 implemented a project entitled “Enter UK: Days of Great Britain in Novi Sad” (for two years in a row). The main idea was to introduce local public with British social and cultural influences in Serbia. Issues of multiculturalism, (anti-)racism, (anti-)discrimination, football, fair play, (sub-) cultural influences, humour were addressed during two previous years.

The first Chevening Alumni Annual Conference (CAAC) was held in April 2008. The goal of the Conference, which gathered around 50 scholars and fellows, experts in the field of law, economy, political science, media, culture and education has been strengthening of the Alumni (i.e. introducing Chevening of the Year Award) and developing plans for the future. Besides this Conference, the FCO, through its project funds, also supported organisation of the Regional Chevening Conference planned for spring 2009. In October 2008 Chevening Alumni celebrated the 10th anniversary of the scheme in Serbia and inaugurated annual "Chevening of the Year" award.

The most active local organisation working on promotion of bilateral links is the Anglo-Serbian Society (AnSeS). For 11 years in a row the Embassy has been supporting their International Summer School for Democracy, which is bringing together scholars, experts, youth leaders and activists from the UK, Serbia and SE Europe.

“London 2012: See You in Four Years” event held in August 2008 in a Belgrade art pavillion, “Cvijeta Zuzoric”, was the official closing of BETA News Agency “Embassy of Games”, a month long project dedicated to the Beijing Olympics and agency’s recently launched video service. The Embassy used the opportunity to showcase London 2012 Olympics and announce further events the FCO have planned to organise ahead of this exciting global event.

Promoting the UK diversity the Embassy, organises topical activitis to mark St David’s, St Andrew’s and St George’s Day each year. Some of the previous events involved elementary schools in different towns in Serbia, Roma organisations, media etc.

There are a number of Serbian organisations in the UK, for example, the Serbian Society, the Serbian Benevolent Society, the Novi Sad Association and the Association of Serbian Writers Abroad. The Serbian Orthodox Church has churches throughout England, including those in London, Birmingham and Oxford.

The British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. This institution is an integral part of the UK’s international relations and their work supports and complements the diplomatic, developmental and commercial work carried out by other UK organisations and agencies.

The British Council has been operating in Yugoslavia since 1940 and has an office in Belgrade with a library and e-centre. The British Council works with local bodies and individuals under the twin themes of ‘economy’ and ‘reform’. Through education and training opportunities, the promotion of science, creative industries and through support for English language development, it helps develop the capacity for sound economic development and international engagement.

It supports Serbia in carrying out reform by providing training and creating opportunities for sharing experience to current and future leaders. In May 2005 the British Council and the Serbian Ministry of Education and Sport signed a MoU, which puts the UK at the heart of the education reform agenda in Serbia.

In order to create opportunities for dialogue between the diverse groups in the region, it works with partners to develop programmes using culture and education to give people the opportunity to share experience, air their own views and to develop their own skills and experience. The objective is to build trust and break down barriers.

The British Council’s work in Serbia focuses on providing support to education reform and development of English language teachers working in primary and secondary schools, administration of Chevening scholarships for postgraduate studies in the UK, administration of ESOL examinations and other professional examinations, as well as work on projects in the area of arts, science and governance. As an example, in 2006/07 20000 people from Serbia participated in the British Council programmes and events; nearly 250 performers, contemporary dancers, theatre professionals, visual artists and musicians from both countries and the region exchanged experiences through working together on joint projects; more than 500 young people participated in science projects and events, along with 40 renowned UK and Serbian scientists; 2000 English language teachers attended professional development programmes and seminars; while nearly 4000 schools, as well as universities, education and government bodies started working on raising standards of education at all levels through quality assurance systems and links with UK schools.

For further details please refer to the British Council bilingual website:

British Council bilingual website.

Inward Visits

18-19 September 2007 - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic visited London and met Foreign Secretary David Miliband. He addressed an audience of think-tank/media at Chatham House, called on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and had talks with the Prime Minister’s foreign policy advisor, Simon McDonald and at the Home Office with Meg Hillier, Under Secretary of State.
26-27 June 2006 – Serbian Prime Minister Dr Vojislav Kostunica visited the UK and met Prime Minister Blair, Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, and Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon. He was accompanied by Minister for Economy Predrag Bubalo and Minister of Interior Dragan Jocic.
21 June 2006 – Serbian President Boris Tadic visited London and met Geoff Hoon, Minister for Europe.
13-15 June 2005 – Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Dr Miroljub Labus visited the UK and met with the Minister for Europe, Douglas Alexander, and the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott.
23 March 2005 – Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic visited the UK for an audience with Her Majesty The Queen.
17-19 January 2005 – Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic visited the UK as a Guest of Government. His delegation included SaM Foreign Minister, Vuk Draskovic; SaM Defence Minister, Prvoslav Davinic; and SaM International Economic Relations Minister, Predrag Ivanovic. The delegation met with Prime Minister Tony Blair; the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw; the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon; Minister for Europe, Dr Denis MacShane; Minister for State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Douglas Alexander; Minister for Defence Procurement, Lord Bach. The delegation travelled to Edinburgh and met with the First Minister and the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, George Reid.
15-19 March 2004 – a delegation from the Serbia and Montenegro Inter Parliamentary Union led by acting SaM Parliamentary Speaker Milorad Drljevic visited Belfast and London. The delegation met Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Jane Kennedy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development Gareth Thomas and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office Caroline Flint.
22 – 23 April 2002 – Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic met the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Dr MacShane and DFID Minister Hilary Benn. He was accompanied by Serbian Minister for Foreign Economic Relations Goran Pitic and Serbian Minister for Trade and Tourism Slobodan Milosavljevic.
28 – 29 November 2001 – FRY President Vojislav Kostunica visited as a guest of government and met HM The Queen, The Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon. He was accompanied by FRY Foreign Minister Dr Goran Svilanovic who held talks with the Foreign and FCO Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Dr Denis MacShane. He was also accompanied by Federal Minister for External Trade Mr Miroljub Labus.

Outward

9-10 July 2007: The UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee (delegation) visited Serbia, meeting President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.
7 February 2007 - Minister for Europe Geoff Hoon visited Serbia, meeting President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Kostunica and Foreign Minister Draskovic.
15 September 2005 - Minister for Europe Douglas Alexander visited Belgrade as part of a tour of the region. In Belgrade he met SaM President Svetozar Marovic, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Serbian President Boris Tadic, Serbian Interior Minister Dragan Jocic and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus.
30 November – 1 December 2004, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon visited Belgrade. He met with SaM President Svetozar Marovic, SaM Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, SaM Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinic, Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Serbian President Boris Tadic.
On a visit to Belgrade Dr Denis MacShane, Minister for Europe met Boris Tadic, President of Serbia.
• 25 October 2004 – Minister for Europe Dr Denis MacShane visited Belgrade, where he met with Boris Tadic,Serbian President ; SaM Foreign Minister; Vuk Draskovic; Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister; and Svetozar Marovic, the SaM President.
11 July 2004 – Baroness Crawley attended the inauguration in Belgrade of new Serbian President Boris Tadic.
• 21-22 April 2004 – Minister for Europe Dr Denis MacShane met SaM President Svetozar Marovic;, SaM Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic and SaM Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinic on a visit to Belgrade. He also held meetings with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus. Dr MacShane visited Belgrade's 17th Century Bajrakli Mosque, which was badly damaged by extremists in March reacting to the inter-ethnic violence in Kosovo.
• 5 - 6 November 2002 – Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visited Belgrade and met FRY President Vojislav Kostunica, FRY Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic and Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. He also met Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic, Serbian Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic, Serbian Privatisation Minister Aleksandar Vlahovic and Serbian Minister of Energy Kori Udovicki.